Dragons’ Den investor Rachel Elnaugh is a British entrepreneur, Television personality, motivational speaker and business mentor. She gained popularity after establishing Britain’s first experiential gift company – Red Letter Days. She is also famous for being the only female judge in the first two seasons of BBC’s Dragons’ Den. Rachel invested in Le Beanock, in Grails, Bedlam Puzzles, Snowbone, and Elizabeth Galton during the show.
Net Worth of Dragons’ Den Investor Rachel Elnaugh
In June 2021, the net worth of the entrepreneur was estimated to be £5.8m. Her life is an inspiration to many. While growing up, Rachel lived in Chelmsford above her dad’s electrical store, ‘Elnaugh and Son’. She completed her studies at Chelmsford County High School for Girls in Essex.
Surprisingly, Rachel was willing to pursue art history, but almost five institutions rejected her application. Later, she worked as a junior accountant to become a certified tax consultant with Arthur Andersen.
Rachel introduced Red Letter Days in 1989, making it one of the first Britain companies to sell experiential gifts. Soon Red Letter Days expanded to a turnover of £18m becoming an award-winning business. Moreover, in 2000, the company’s worth was estimated to be £250m.
Rachel became the creator of the experience industry in Britain. In 2001, Veuve Clicquot shortlisted Rachel for the Businesswoman of the Year Award for her success and influence. Additionally, in 2002, the entrepreneur received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for her innovation, boldness and resilience.
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Rachel Elnaugh’s Journey as a Dragon
Rachel joined BBC’s popular TV programme Dragons’ Den in 2002. The team of Dragons’ Den shot the trial episode for the show in 2003. Moreover, the first season of Dragons’ Den was filmed in 2004 and telecasted on 4 January 2005. The show gained popularity worldwide and became a big hit. It also received BAFTA Film Awards in 2005.
The second season of the show was filmed in mid-2005 and aired in November 2005. In the show, Rachel was gaining a huge appreciation for her entrepreneurship. However, out of public view, she was struggling to make Red Letter Days profitable again, after facing a devastating over-expansion of the business in the retail sector in 2002.
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Despite the venture being profitable again and possessing £3.3m at the bank, Red Letter Days went into administration by Barclays Bank in August 2005. Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones purchased the remaining assets of the venture.
Rachel Elnaugh’s Life After Dragons’ Den and Red Letter Days
After selling Red Letter Days, Rachel shared her experiences and learnings at several business events. Additionally, she also wrote a book ‘Business Nightmares‘ in which she explained the fine line between success and failure. In the book, Elnaugh shared the story of her own and 20 other successful tycoons who faced hardships in their journey. ’Business Nightmares‘ was published in May 2008, and the book has become a companion for many struggling businessmen.
Moreover, Rachel is now an expert professional speaker with experience in delivering speeches at almost three hundred events. The entrepreneur has also shared her business ideas and knowledge at TEDx, Harvard University, The Oxford Union Debating Society and The British Library.
Rachel has also spoken at The Scottish Parliament, the Opening of Global Entrepreneurship week in Holland, the Conservative Party Conference, and The National Library Singapore as a guest speaker. Soon Rachel became a business mentor by helping struggling entrepreneurs make businesses profitable with her economical training programmes and workshops.
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Dragons’ Den Investor Rachel Enlaugh’s Portfolio
In 2011, Elnaugh co-produced the trial episode for a life-changing TV brand. During the pilot production, she met Barefoot Doctor (Stephen Russell). Consequently, she became the business manager of Barefoot Doctor, printing his book – The Message. Moreover, the duo’s collaborative radio show Barefoot and the Dragon became a big hit.
In 2012, Elnaugh created an affordable video mentoring programme, named Business Alchemy. The tycoon used her business knowledge, marketing skills, her experience of financial struggle, and understanding of metaphysics to educate aspiring entrepreneurs through this programme.
In 2013, Rachel and anthropologist Kevin Stein introduced SourceTV- a new generation publishing platform. She also published a book PROSPERITY on 23 April 2016. In this book, the author explains the metaphysics behind money, how to align to the soul’s purpose, and several practical marketing advice.
In the last few years, Elnaugh has continued to learn professional training in trauma healing, personal healing, Ba Zi and Feng Shui and Natural Wisdom Leadership. These learnings have helped the entrepreneur in taking her Mentoring programmes and Professional Speaking to new heights of transformation.
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Rachel is a transformational businesswoman who advocates Conscious Capitalism. Her never give up attitude has proved that constant efforts are the key to success.